Faroe's Armada
by KaiSea
Summary: Months have past since the last worthwhile case, when a call finally comes through, its from England. They know nothing about the ship, only that it was lost with the Spanish fleet and has been sighted many times across Europe. But this time is different.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's note.**_

_This is sort of a sequel to 'The Return' but it's not entirely necessary to read it before this._

_To those who have read my first story, welcome back! Ohisashiburi desu! _

_It's been a long time, but I hope you find this case as interesting as the first._

_Firstly, before someone points it out, I have recently discovered that either Keywordparamore or I have some sort of Psychic connection, I'm not kidding!_

_I would write something, and not a day later, she would post something that seemed to follow the same formulae, we hadn't spoken about either of our new stories._

_In any case, I had no wish to change it and neither had she, so I took a break from writing to allow her to get ahead and it hasn't happened since._

_Three occasions I tell you!_

The door to the SPR office opened with a bang, and Mai walked in, shivering, her cheeks flushed from the cold and extreme anger.

"Mai, if you break the door, you know who'll be paying for it."

Naru followed her at a calmer pace, sliding his coat from his shoulders and flinging it onto the coat stand.

His assistant just muttered darkly to herself, turning up the heater a few notches and disappearing into the kitchen to try to get something in her system to banish the cold that had sunk into her bones.

The young man was in a foul mood, they had just returned from a case that had turned out to be something he never would have taken back in England. But cases had been few and far between lately, maybe people were finally learning not to meddle and bury their dead properly.

A family had reported knockings on the roof in their house, it had nothing to do with pipes, or any wildlife. Apparently the father was highly superstitious and hired them to exorcise the so-called spirit.

There had been cases of things moving, going missing, or flying out of windows.

As it turned out, it was just a land spirit that got angry when they cut down a lemon tree in the back garden, Naru hadn't stayed for the exorcism, just directed them to their local shrine for some wards and a priest to get rid of it for them. It was one occasion where Matsuzaki-san may have been useful, if her knowledge of _Chirei_ was anything like she claimed, and she was out at a dinner party. _Typical_, he growled to no one in particular, the weather had him on edge.

It had been a long day with the two of them trudging around a cold frosty garden, looking for something that only chose to show up when Mai accidentally tripped over the stump of it's former residence.

By now, it was past eleven at night, and Mai still had paperwork to do.

He heard her groaning from his office, but merely shut the door, and left her to it. It was what he paid her for, and very generously at that, she would have to deal with it.

Mai slumped over her desk, scribbling down the final words on a random form, and then she threw down her pen with a small sigh of relief.

"Glad that's over" she stretched in her seat, linking her fingers and straining them above her head.

When she looked up, she was mildly surprised at how dark the room was, the only light aside from what came from her own tiny desk lamp was emitted from Lin's office door, which was open for once, the light from his computer making the usually warm office seem that much colder.

It was a little eerie too.

Of course, from a logical point of view, she should be used to far creepier settings than an office in the Central Business District, but at night, SPR seemed to reflect its purpose.

Shaking her head and convincing herself that it was just the hour, she began packing her things to leave, hopefully she would make it out of here before-

"Mai, what are you doing here?"

_How is it that he always knows when I don't want him around?_

"Um... I work here" she muttered lamely, not quite having the courage to turn around and face her cold hearted boss.

Naru didn't bother to check the time, "Your schedule ended four hours ago, you have no reason to be here."

She considered making up an excuse, but knew full well that she would only be digging a deeper hole for herself.

"I'm going now."

Mai knew full well that she had taken far too long to complete the paperwork. Her procrastinating hadn't helped.

Naru's cold blue eyes showed no expression other than profound irritation, he crossed his arms sternly, "And how do you intend to get home at this hour?"

Before she could answer he turned his head to his associate's office, "Lin, take Mai home would you?"

"Sorry Naru, I can't do that at the moment, urgent matters to attend to" Lin's voice seemed a little strained, he had obviously been up for a long time.

"Then there's no help for it" Naru pulled his long black coat from the hook by the door, "I'll have to take you myself."

In the past, the thought of her boss walking her home would have made her feel ecstatic, now she wasn't so sure, but she sure as hell wasn't about to pass up this opportunity.

It was cold outside, Mai bitterly regretted not bringing a warmer coat to work that morning, her legs were freezing!

"It's your fault for wearing skirts in winter" came the voice from beside her.

Damn it, Mai swore he could read minds.

"Even an idiot would notice that you were shivering."

There he went again, it was downright creepy.

"Thanks for the sympathy" she grumbled, pulling her rather thin woolen jumper closer around her frame.

Mai began to curse every step she took, her house was a long way from the office, she could hardly afford to live in Shibuya, the rent was too high, so she lived somewhere quieter.

The long walk was killing her, it was just too damn cold.

She barely noticed Naru stop, his footsteps ceasing their rhythmic tapping on the sidewalk.

"Mai."

Mai turned around, and jumped slightly in surprise as Naru hung his coat around her shoulders, she immediately felt warmer, the fabric still retained heat from his body.

Wondering at this sudden change of personality, she looked up at him, puzzled, the coat just about swamping her. He was actually acting decent for a change.

"Are you just going to stand there, or do you plan on getting home tonight?"

Or not.

Rather than rising to the bait, she just nodded, starting up again and trying not to drag his coat across the ground. It was hard, he was so much taller than her.

When they finally got to Mai's apartment block, she was half asleep, leaning on her boss without really noticing.

He didn't say anything, but he curled his fingers around the crook of her elbow, guiding her up the steps to the lobby.

The attendant at the desk looked up briefly, frowning at Naru's unfamiliar figure, when she caught sight of Mai however, her face relaxed into a tired smile.

"Mai-chan, you're back late."

The small girl didn't answer, but raised an arm wearily and waved, the black fabric of Naru's coat flapping from where it sagged over her hands.

"Who's this?"

Mai was about to answer, when Naru steered her towards the elevator, she stumbled slightly on the way and hastily bid her landlady goodnight.

"Er Naru, I can make it to my door unescorted you know . . ."

Her boss let go of her elbow, "Really? Knowing you, you'd get lost on the way."

She just grumbled as she fumbled for her keys, not having the energy to snap at him.

Mai opened her door and stumbled inside, kicking off her shoes, making a beeline for the cramped lounge and flopped onto the couch.

Naru stepped in after her, a little unsure whether he should leave or not, thankfully Mai saved him the trouble.

"Come in, it's a bit cold out there so you may as well get warm . . . not that I think you even _feel_ the cold."

The last part was an irritated mutter, and he barely heard.

"You can sit down there if you want," she indicated the couch in the sitting room, Naru sat, crossing his legs comfortably, as at ease as he always was, which meant he could have been on a business trip if you ignored the absence of his black case file.

Mai's house was reasonably neat all things considered, she was living on her own, and he did wonder where she had gotten the furniture, logically a few of her teachers had donated something to help her.

His brown haired assistant poked her head out of the kitchen doorway, "I'm making hot chocolate, want anything?"

"Tea."

She almost rolled her eyes, but she shouldn't have been surprised, he practically lived off leaves and hot water.

The kettle had just clicked when the phone rang.

"Naru, can you get that?" Mai called out without thinking, she didn't really expect him to comply, so she was a little surprised when she heard his voice answer the phone.

_He's being unusually civil today . . . did he hit his head?_

Mai turned around with two chipped mugs, and jumped when she saw Naru's dark figure in the doorway, phone in hand.

"It's Lin."

"Lin-san?" Mai frowned, "At this hour?"

"We've received a call" he replied nonchalantly.

She raised an eyebrow, wondering who, for goodness sake, would call psychic researchers at three o'clock in the morning.

Naru, using his scary intuition, answered her unspoken question.

"Apparently, it's from England."

_Huh? Wait . . . the time difference between England and Tokyo is . . . _

"Fifteen hours."

"Would you _stop_ that?!"

Naru held the phone to his ear again, waving her off, "Mai, go to bed, I'll handle this."

Grumbling to herself, she downed the chocolate in record time, and retreated upstairs, wondering why she was taking orders in her own house.

Once Mai had left, Naru resumed his conversation with Lin.

"What's this about?"

He heard some rustling across the line as Lin grabbed a report from the stack he had recently printed out.

The onmyouji briefly explained the bare facts of the case, Naru pinched the bridge of his nose, frustrated.

"Lin, a case of this magnitude is bound to cause a media frenzy, why on earth did you accept it?"

"Naru, I think you would want to take this one" his assistant sounded tired.

"And why would that be?"

"The call came from Professor Davis."

The young man flinched, brilliant.

"I see," he sighed, suddenly feeling severely fatigued,

"They want us to fly over there straight away."

"Are they aware of the time?" he demanded, he had even less patience than normal when it came to the people involved.

"Apparently so."

Another sigh, and Naru glanced over at the simple wall clock, judging the time.

"Look, we'll leave early tomorrow, that way Mai can get a few hours of sleep beforehand."

On the other end of the phone, Lin smiled to himself, barely bothering to wipe off the expression as he was alone.

"Would you like me to pick you up?"

"No need, I'll spend the night here and you can pick us both up at six tomorrow."

"Naru" Lin almost gave a nervous laugh, but it wasn't in his character, "I don't think thats a good-"

The dial tone sounded in his ear, Naru had hung up.

Lin stared at the receiver bemusedly for a moment, then set it back in its cradle, shaking his head slightly.

_I just hope he's prepared for her reaction . . . _

_***_

_It was dark, Mai couldn't see anything, but there must have been light, because she could see herself when she raised her pajama-covered arms to rub for warmth._

_She could see her breath steam in front of her, white mist, which was strange, for a dream._

_Her heart began to pound, the air seemed thick, and she noticed that though the dark was complete, she swore that she could see things moving, twisting in the shadows. They seemed to press down on her, making it hard to breathe, it was oppressive. _

_'Mai!'_

_She turned, recognizing the soft voice, it was broken with fear and worry._

_"Gene?"_

_'Mai! Run!'_

_She couldn't find him, no matter which way she turned, "Where are you?"_

_'Mai! Don't go there!'_

_A flicker in the shadows, she glimpsed his face, taut with concern, his bright blue eyes piercing, he was trying to reach her._

_Then there was a new voice, female, desperate, and she knew she had heard it before._

_'If you want to get out alive, you must run!'_

_Body caught up with mind, and she was pulled back._

_***_

Mai woke in a daze, then she sat up, fighting off the covers.

She stumbled down the stairs, tripping on the last step, she didn't hear the voice call to her from the couch.

Mai fumbled with the lock on her door, she managed to get it open and tumbled into the corridor. Aiming for the SPR offices, she had to tell someone, not that she thought anyone would be there at this hour.

"Mai!"

She turned at the sound of the voice, somehow along the way she tripped, and knew that she was blacking out again as darkness encroached on her vision.

She felt strong arms steady her, her face buried into a soft black shirt, and Naru's concerned voice reaching out to her before everything blurred into nothing.

_**Author's note.**_

_Please review!_

_Not sure how soon I'll update cuz I have , . . *counts on fingers* another five writing projects, two comic projects and my first translation project._


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's note.**_

_Second bit!_

Sunlight hit the back of her eyelids, Mai groaned at the blast to her retinas, and rolled over to cover her eyes.

Eventually, she blinked them open, and discovered that the source of the light was her window, which had the curtains thrown aside.

She sensed another presence in her room, turned over, and spotted the dark figure of her boss standing in her doorway.

"Mai, we need to go."

"Huh, what do you mean? Wait-" she rubbed her eyes, trying to bring herself into awareness, "What are you doing here?"

"Lin is coming to pick us up at six, so get ready."

Naru turned and left her to it, what ever it was that he expected her to do, Mai dragged herself into her bathroom blearily, never a morning person, and went through the usual routine.

After she had cleaned herself up, and her mind was working a little more coherently, she managed to grasp the situation more firmly.

Suddenly, she remembered her dream, that confusing jumble of words and shapes that was supposed to form a message.

She stumbled downstairs for the second time that morning, desperate to make it this time, "Naru!" she choked out, halfway between the floor and the last step.

"I'm right here Mai, there's no need to scream."

He turned from where he was reading a book on the couch, she recognized it as one she had bought when she wanted to gain a bit of knowledge on local spirits, figures he would pick that one.

Naru took in her panicked expression and rose from his seat, "You were like this last night too, what is it?" He was getting better at showing a little bit of concern, but it was still only restricted to times when they were alone, which were getting more frequent lately.

_Last night? _

Her face coloured slightly when she remembered how Naru had caught her as she fell.

"It... It was Gene again, he-"

"Has that idiot still not moved on?" Naru asked, his tone was fierce, but his face showed traces of unhappy memories, some remorse. It made Mai feel intrusive somehow.

"Yeah... he was trying to warn me... but I couldn't see him clearly."

"How do you mean?" Naru's expression was blank again.

"As in, he was trying to reach me, but it seemed as though something was stopping him."

Naru frowned, when had something like this happened before?

Ah yes, it had been the Ikeyama case, when Mai's memories had briefly been sealed, and it was only later that the seal broke due to the spirit's attack.

But Gene had done that himself, with the help of Miki's spirit and Lin, and he had difficulty contacting Mai sometimes, so maybe it didn't mean much. There were times when Mai couldn't see Gene clearly, mostly due to stress or anxiety, purely psychological.

"What did he say to you?"

"Something about not going somewhere... and he told me to run."

"From what?"

"I don't know... and there was another voice... " Mai scrunched her nose, trying to remember, "It sounded familiar."

Naru sighed, "It's probably our next case."

Mai cocked her head, Naru shook his, "You'd better get dressed" he indicated her pajama's, and she gulped, noting the flower dotted flannel sheepishly.

_What time is it anyway?_

Mai's eyes widened in horror when she saw, half past five, what in the world was Naru playing at, it wasn't time for school for a good three hours.

Not bothering to question it, she slipped on a skirt and jumper, returning into the living room to find Naru on the phone.

As she approached, he set it down, "You don't have to go to school today, I've explained to the principal."

"Ah... ok, but what-"

Her doorbell rang, she ran to answer it.

When she opened the door, she was surprised to be faced with Lin's stoic form.

"Lin-san... what?"

"We need to go Taniyama-san," he explained, but it wasn't an explanation at all.

"Alright Mai, you get in the van, then we need to pick up Hara-san, I have a feeling she will be indispensable this time."

Lin nodded, but Mai wasn't going to go along with it until she got an explanation.

"Stop! _Where_ are we going? What are we doing and why?"

Naru's exasperated sigh made her want to punch him, here he was, ordering her around in her own place, that was rude, even for him.

She would have snapped at him, had Naru not reached into his pocket, withdrawing a small slip of paper and passing it to her.

Mai took it curiously, all anger forgotten, it was a colour photo, she looked at it for a moment, frowning and turning it different ways.

When she got it, she couldn't help a noise of surprise escaping her throat, the picture was wrong, everything about it was bizarre.

"T-this is... "

The photo was of an enormous galleon, if she could remember her history lessons, it was part of the Spanish Armada, but though it was old, it showed no signs of aging. And every inch was incased in thick ice.

As if that were not strange enough, it appeared to be situated in a small town, some small rectangular buildings could be seen in the edge of the photograph.

"How did-"

"We don't know, it appeared just three days ago, and we've received a call to investigate."

"So wait..." Mai passed the photograph back to him, "We're going to _England_?"

"Yes."

"_Now_?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes Mai."

"But-"

Naru appeared to be getting impatient, he took hold of her shoulders and guided her towards the van, and he completely ignored her protests.

"But Naru! I haven't even packed!"

"I'm sure our clients will provide you with something."

"You can't expect that!" she exclaimed, "What's wrong with you?"

Naru steered her towards the back, before climbing into the front seat, Mai was puzzled by his behavior, and Lin provided her with an answer.

"I suggest you prepare yourself Taniyama-san, the call came from his parents."

***

This was Mai's first time on a plane, and she felt a certain amount of apprehension as it began to roll down the runway.

The trembling and shuddering of the plane unnerved her, she suddenly wished she had someone to hold onto for support, but neither of the people next to her would be particularly sympathetic, certainly not Naru.

_As if, I don't need to be sitting next to an iceberg for twenty-something hours._

Lin she considered, but though they were on more friendly terms now, since Ikeyama's case, she figured he certainly wouldn't appreciate it if she latched onto his arm. It would be awkward anyway, not like with Bou-san.

Masako was brooding in the seat behind her, no doubt sending evil thoughts at the back of her head because Mai was sitting next to Naru and she wasn't.

_Tough luck, no clue why you'd want to sit next to this guy, it's as cold as the arctic over here right now._

Mai felt her stomach lurch as they climbed rapidly, she felt a ringing in her ears as the air pressure changed.

She clamped her hands over her ears; Naru spoke quietly from beside her, without looking up from his book.

"Try yawning Mai, it'll relieve the pressure."

She had her doubts, but did as he suggested, and was surprised to discover that he was right, the uncomfortable pressure lessened considerably.

Of course, as a matter of habit by now, she ended up sleeping most of the way, for once she was able to enjoy a normal, weird-dream-free type of sleep.

It was probably a good thing, she didn't want to experience anything disturbing on a plane, for one, there was no help nearby, and for another, it would be hard to explain to skeptical passengers.

She could hardly tell them that 'A ghost showed me their gruesome death,' it would not be received well.

As they approached their destination, she realized that she was about to visit England for the first time, the place where Gene and Naru had grown up, or at least spent the majority of their lives.

It was Gene's final resting place.

No one knew why Naru's twin brother had not moved on by now; he still contacted her, more frequently and clearer than before. As if his funeral had removed any obstacles between them.

It was weird that finding his body would bring them closer.

Gene paid her visits even when they were not on cases now, as if he just wanted some company, most of the time they just talked.

_But, why hasn't Naru reacted?_

Her boss had shown no emotion after they found his brother, the only hint of grief he had displayed was when they first found the lake.

_Naru was still in a foul mood; he had finally been released from the hospital after his run in with the Okobu-sama, the god that cursed the residences of the Yoshimi restaurant. _

_Mai had provoked him into using his psychonesis, and as a result, his heart stopped, and he was forced to stay a few weeks in hospital, something he was __not__ happy about._

_His assistant was sitting in the back seat of the modified van, from her position; she could feel the temperature dropping by the second._

_'Whoa, what's with him?'_

_Her boss was staring out the window, or maybe it would be more accurate to say glowering._

_She wouldn't have been surprised if the trees by the roadside burst into flame from the force of his glare, made even more probable considering who he was._

_The road turned into a rough gravel track, Lin slowed down to accommodate for the uneven surface, the trees thinned, revealing a huge body of water stretched out ahead of them._

_"Oh wow!" Mai pressed her palm to the window glass, straining past the irritating sunset glare off the water to take a better look, soft slopes retracted to harsh grey rock mountain, jutting out in cliffs and overhangs like knives attacking the pale pink sky. _

_The grimy water failed to mirror the fiery colours, only the harsh mountains, turning everything a steely gray._

_"Hey Naru, isn't it pretty?"_

_"Stop the car," There was a shake in his voice._

_"Naru?" Lin looked across at his charge, slowing down a little, "Is it-"_

_"God Dammit Lin! Stop the car!"_

_Mai called his name, but he didn't answer, and when she turned to see why, the front seat was empty, the door hanging open._

_She almost fell out of the back seat when she followed his dark figure hastening up the steep slope to where the dark water met the land. Naru gripped the railing with both hands as he hunched over, staring into his reflection that looked back at him with cold, dead blue eyes. For once he wished they didn't look so alike, the cold wind stirred his hair, he didn't react when Mai tugged his sleeve, only to murmur. "Finally, I've found it."_

_Then he turned without a word, to get back in the car._

That had been the day they had found out everything, about his identity, and about his twin brother. Gene.

Mai finally had her answer to the question that had been ringing in her head all along; it was his brother who visited her dreams, not Naru. But that should have been obvious, kind; sympathetic Gene was so much more open than his living brother, who closed himself to the world.

He hadn't shown the slightest amount of grief, no tears, and his preparations to find Gene's body had been bitterly logical; it had probably not been the best of times to tell him how she felt, but she couldn't undo it now.

He had rejected her, as she really knew he would, but in the worst way possible, he told her what she feared, that she was in love with his brother, not him.

Then he left for England without so much as a goodbye.

But he was back, so she forgave him, at least she knew the general direction her life was going more or less. She liked the stability SPR provided.

At some point she must have fallen asleep, because she was woken by a sudden jolt. Mai woke with a start and must have said something, because Naru was giving her his typical icy glare and everyone was looking at her.

"Sorry."

The passengers seemed to make a point of ignoring her from then on.

The landing had unnerved her, but it was good to be out, to stretch her aching legs as they waited for their luggage to come around on the belt. Ayako had brought more packages than three of them combined.

She looked out the window to see a grey sky, rain ran down the light blue glass, it was cold to the touch.

"Doesn't England do anything but rain?"

**Authors note:**

Sorry guys, I won't bore you with excuses and get straight to the point, I'm not sure if I can finish this story to be honest. Year eleven coming up and all, but I will try.

I've also lost most of my faith in Fanfiction, and moved to my own stories, but I love Ghost Hunt and horror stories as much as ever so I will try to continue this. Just don't expect frequent updates.

Sorry you didn't see much action here.


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